History of District 68

Our school district opened in 1898 in a two-room schoolhouse called Sharp Corner School. It was located at the corner of Gross Point, Church, and Hwy. 41. The school served a large township; children walked to school from areas now known as Glenview and Evanston . Below are some selected highlights from our long history. Designated as District 1 in the town of Niles Center in 1901 Became Niles Center District 68 in 1902 Jane Stenson began teaching at Sharp Corner School in 1916 A second school, College Hill School , opened sometime after Sharp Corner School . College Hill left District 68 in 1930 and became District 68.5 until they joined the Evanston School District . Sharp Corner School was rebuilt in 1928, with additions in 1934, 1936, 1950, 1958, and 1960 District 68 PTA established in 1929 Graduates from Sharp Corner School attended Evanston High School until 1930. After 1930, graduates attended Niles Township High School (currently Lincoln Jr. High - Dist. 69) Jane Stenson became principal of Sharp Corner School in 1929 The town of Niles Center was renamed Village of Skokie in 1940 A three-man Board of Directors governed the school district from 1898 – 1944. A seven-person Board of Education was instituted in 1944 Jane Stenson left Sharp Corner in 1949 due to illness but returned to full-time teaching there in 1950. She retired from District 68 in 1957

Student enrollment in District 68 was 4, 216 in 1965 Jane Stenson School was built in 1953 with additions constructed in 1956, 1959, 1963, and 2013 Devonshire School was built in 1955 with additions constructed in 1956, 1963, and 2014 Highland School was built in 1958 with additions constructed in 1959, 1963, and 2014 Old Orchard Junior High was built in 1960 with an addition constructed in 1969. Offices of the Board of Education were housed at OOJH

Sharp Corner School vacated in 1978 and sold in 2013 to Muslim Community Center (MCC) The Board of Education built the Educational Service Center in 1972. The offices of the Board of Education remained at the ESC until 1982. From 1982 to 1986 the ESC was rented to a private business, and the offices of the Board of Education moved back to OOJH. Since 1989 the ESC has been used for offices of the Board of Education and a portion of the building has been rented to the Niles Township ELL Parent Center. The Center is supported by nine of the ten township school districts.